Dear all,
Planning for WHYW 2025 started more or less as soon as our 2024 event was complete. At least I have to say that I always come away from the event fired up with ideas for the following year. But firstly, time to reflect and I think it is fair to say that this years event went well …….. I certainly enjoyed it! And I sincerely hope that you did too.
We were delighted with our tally of 97 entries. This exceeded our expectations, and a very big thank you to you all for your support. Perhaps more importantly, I would like to say thank you for your support of the RNLI in this, their 200th anniversary year. Your contributions were extremely generous, and we were pleased to be able to hand over a cheque for £1000 from your donations on the entry form. This total was boosted by a further £615 given by MOWI, this being the takings from their food van. A letter of thanks from RNLI Oban has been posted separately on our website and Facebook.
It is my intention that we send out a questionnaire in the very near future. We try to keep this personal, and relevant. I don’t intend to include a lot of questions about the format of the week, (I think we have got that just about right?), or the social side. On that score, my one fear this year was that we perhaps tried to include too much.
Having alluded to it last year, my one area of concern is the handicapping system. CYCA is what we have got, and what we have worked with for years. Most importantly, is it fair to all? Is it up to date? And is it fit for purpose? If not, can it be improved? Or is there something better out there? – YTC being one example. I do not know the answers to any of the above questions, but it appears that there are rumblings out there. In my view there are too many idiosyncrasies in the system, and as we continue to concentrate on the “inclusiveness” of this event, I would like to see new faces collecting prizes! Perhaps this is a pipe dream, but I don’t think so. Please let me know your thoughts.
And on a less happy note, I was sorry to learn today that Ron Cowan of Yachting Images is currently in hospital, and has been for the last fortnight. This is seriously impacting on his ability to sort through and post photographs, for which he is apologetic. I know however that you will all want to pass on your best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Enjoy the rest of your sailing season!
Gavin.
Chairman WHYW
Yacht Celerity